Court directs Darjeeling-based filmmaker to repay Rs 3 crore
A court in Mumbai has directed Shenpenn Khymsar, a Darjeeling-based filmmaker, to repay more than Rs 3 crore that he had allegedly borrowed from a person in Portugal for making a film.
The All India Gorkha League (AIGL) will now have only two factions, instead of the four separate camps that the party had split into earlier.
It is learnt that three senior leaders of the separate factions have come together on one platform and reunited, even as they have renewed their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
Talking to reporters over the phone, the vice-president of one of the camps of the Hill party, Ugham Lama, said that they held a meeting in Kalimpong on Saturday last, where they “ended the factionalism in the AIGL party, forever.” Apart from other senior leaders of the AIGL, the main leaders of the three other camps were Laxman Pradhan, Pratap Khati and SK Pradhan.
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“All three of them attended the meeting in Kalimpong and they have now united to take forward the people’s aspirations or the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state,” Mr Lama said.
According to him, the senior leaders of the AIGL were working on the Gorkhaland demand “on their own way.” Asked about the other faction of the party led by Bharati Tamang, the widow of slain AIGL leader Madan Tamang, Mr Lama claimed that the AIGL was one and has no faction now.
According to him, the AIGL party leadership had earlier already expelled Mrs Tamang from the party. “As such, after Saturday’s development, the AIGL party is one and has no faction,” Mr Lama said.
“Whoever claims that he/she belongs to the AIGL or if they really consider themselves to be the Gorkha League, they will have to unite for Gorkhaland. In response, we will definitely welcome them in our party fold,” he added.
In the meeting in Kalimpong, a new committee of the party was also formed, in which Meena Subba was appointed the party president, SK Pradhan the general secretary, and Laxman Pradhan the working chairman of the AIGL. Mr Khati has been appointed as the working president of the party.
Mr Pradhan later also issued a press release on Saturday’s development in the party.
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